


Two Blind Mice

by AllHailBurnoel, kitsunesongs



Category: Naruto
Genre: Dark!Hashirama, Dub-con handjob, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Murder, Founding of Konoha, Hashirama will get peace no matter what it takes, M/M, Madara is a drama queen, More tags will be added later, Multi, Plotting, Pre-Konoha Village, Pre-Slash, Spring rages, Talks of murder, all these pairings will happen eventually, and, eventual slash, handjobs, it'll be a slow burn, non-graphic descriptions of future violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:36:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21533833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllHailBurnoel/pseuds/AllHailBurnoel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitsunesongs/pseuds/kitsunesongs
Summary: Hashirama is willing to do whatever it takes to get his precious people the peace they deserve, and now that he's clan head there is finally no one capable of standing in his way.
Relationships: Senju Hashirama/Senju Tobirama, Senju Hashirama/Uchiha Izuna, Senju Hashirama/Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Izuna, Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara
Comments: 175
Kudos: 433





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first attempt at a Naruto fanfic, but this fic has been brainstormed by me and Kitsunesongs on Discord for like months and I'm just now deciding to post it. Chapter postings may be sporadic, and tags will be added as the story goes so that stuff doesn't get spoiled (There won't be anything triggering besides a few minor descriptions of violence/wounds, but I'll post that in the chapter notes as well as the tags on the chapters that comes up in)

Hashirama trailed behind his brother, hopping through the trees without a care in the world, satisfaction humming vibrantly in his chest. 

It was finally happening. Today was the day that he was finally going to be able to put his plan into motion, they were finally going to be taking the first big step onto the path towards peace. Of course, no one but him knew that this was such a momentous day, not with all the careful planning and plotting that he had put in to keep it quiet. 

But that didn’t matter, it didn’t matter that no one knew peace was barreling towards them starting today, in fact it was better that they weren’t aware of it. If they were made privy to his plans there would be a chance for those who oppose peace to try and rip its roots from the earth before they could truly take hold and that was not an option. 

This time his peace would flower and bloom and _grow_. 

Everyone, from his clan to the Uchiha’s, had lost too much in this pointless war, a war that no one was even sure had a true reason for beginning. Children, adults, civilians, everyone had been torn asunder by senseless killing and now Hashirama finally had the chance to change that. He couldn’t change the past, couldn’t bring his brothers or the countless other needless casualties back, but he could stop more casualties from happening. He could make it so neither of their clans had to live in fear, wondering every time their loved ones left their compounds, if they would ever see them again, or if they would only see their dead body. 

“Anija?” 

Hashirama quickly shook himself out of his musings. He forced a small smile onto his face as his Otouto’s voice reached him. He easily jumped down into the clearing to stand beside Tobirama, the warmth of his love blooming in his chest next to his earlier satisfaction. 

“It’s been a while since we’ve been out here, Tobira.” Hashirama valiantly resisted the urge to pull his brother into his arms and never let him go when he finally took in the look on his face. 

His brother was looking at him with concern. Well, to anyone else his face was just as carefully blank as it always was, but Tobirama could never manage to hide his emotions from his Anija. The ball of warmth in his chest only grew at the look, and any qualms he had about going through with his plan were quickly squashed. His brother deserved peace, deserved to not have to hide himself away behind the facade of a cold hearted killer. He deserved to be able to do what he loved best, creating jutsu’s, running experiments, teaching children. He deserved all of that and _more_ , without worrying about being ridiculed for being weak or worthless or cursed. 

And he would be able to do all of that, once Hashirama was sure that their peace would hold, once they built the village he and Madara had dreamed about as children. Once he knew his precious brother was well and truly safe.

“We haven’t been here in five years,” Tobirama corrected, “You haven’t had a spring rage in five years.” 

Hashirama rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, letting some of his chakra flare out into the trees around them, “Yes, well, we did have quite the harsh winter this year. The rose bush outside our window was fighting particularly hard to grow back after all that frost.” 

That wasn’t a complete lie. They had had a harsh winter, and the rose bush he had grown under his brothers favorite reading window in their shared bedroom had even needed some of his chakra this spring to get its roots reestablished after the frost had bitten them. He _was_ lying about heading into a spring rage, however. His brother had long since helped him get complete control over his rages but he was willing to stretch the truth to make sure that his precious people got the peace they deserve. If one little lie was all he needed to get peace started, well he’s sure Tobirama would forgive him for it in the end. 

“Thank you,” He started softly, “For coming out here with me. I know you have quite a bit of work to do at the compound, and I should be able to handle my rages on my own by now, but I have a feeling this will be a particularly bad one.” 

Tobirama’s frown deepened as he turned away to look at the outpost that they had once claimed for Hashirama’s spring rages, but instead of talking about the duties he was neglecting like Hashirama thought he would, he simply said, “It’s alright, Anija. We all have our moments of weakness,” as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

He couldn’t stop himself from beaming at his brother’s back. Everything was going even better than according to his plan, he couldn’t have dreamed that this would be going so well! 

He stepped up behind Tobirama, moving to rest his hand on the armor in between his shoulder blades, “Do you think the security seals still work? They are five years old after all and I don’t think you’ve been out here to renew them in that time.” 

“They should be fine, I made them to last since we were unaware of how long it would take to get your rages under control, but I will check.” 

The seals scattered all over the inside of the outpost flared to life as they walked over the threshold, his brothers cool deep water chakra pressed in against him from all sides. The sensation was incredibly soothing, it was like a balm to his soul and he let his own chakra unfurl a little bit to nudge back, pressing outwards until it mixed with his brothers to take over the seals. 

While his chakra filled the seals he pushed it outwards even further, to the seeds he had left here weeks ago on his way back from a mission, and urged them to grow and flower. The buds quickly sprouted within the room, filling it with vibrant hues of gold and orange, some of them blossoming mere inches from his Otouto’s face. 

Tobirama didn’t seem shocked at the sudden appearance of the flowers. But then again, during his previous spring rages all forms of flora had sprouted nearly everywhere he walked. 

Tobirama merely batted some of the blooms away from his face with the back of his hand as he walked further into the outpost. Tiny specks of pollen dotted his face like little flecks of gold as he ran his chakra through the secondary seals to bring them back to life. 

Hashirama let his own chakra chase his brothers, flowing it through the seals to make them stronger, to make it so that they responded to his will as well as Tobirama’s, as he had every time they came out here during Spring. 

He kept a close eye on his brother as he moved through out the building, waiting patiently for the first signs of his plan beginning to be set into motion. It didn’t take long. Mere minutes after the first blooms appeared, Tobirama was already wavering on his feet. His cheeks had begun to flush, his movements were getting sluggish, the few words he had been tempted into saying were starting to get an obvious slur too them. 

He stepped closer to his brother as the waver got worse, resting a hand on his upper arm and turning him so that he could look at his face. His pupils were blown wide, nearly overshadowing the red of his irises as the natural sedative from the blossoms coursed through his veins. It was all too easy to upset Tobirama’s balance, just a simple little tug on his arm nearly sent him toppling over and Hashirama made sure to keep a firm hold on his arms as he let them both slowly drop to the floor of the outpost. 

A quick burst of chakra had vines curling around the futons in the corner, dragging them closer until he could lift Tobirama up and set him down gently on top of them. Hazy red eyes rolls to meet his and he barely managed to make out the garbled words. 

“It’s alright, Tobira, no one's poisoned us, you’re safe.” He shifted his brothers increasingly limp body around until it was settled in a more comfortable position before gently starting to pull off the battle armor that clung to his form. “Everything will be alright soon, I just need a little bit more time before everything is in place.” 

Tobirama made a questioning noise, his hand trying to scrabble at the ones undressing him, but they were too weak to do more than just barely grasp Hashirama’s wrists. His struggles only grew weaker as Hashirama continued undressing him until he was left in just his fundoshi. The vines that had carried the futon over were quick to help him move Tobirama around until the younger shinobi was fully redressed in a light sleep yukata. It fit very loosely around him, given that it had previously been Hashirama’s, but it would serve to keep him comfortable while he slept. 

He slowly started running his hand through his brothers hair, watching as his eyes slowly started drooping shut. “That’s it, Otouto. Go to sleep,” He hummed, one hand gliding through silky strands of white hair while the other continued its slow caress of his Tobira’s arm, “By the time you wake up everything will be in place, peace will be here and everyone will be getting exactly what they deserve.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hashirama spends some more time with Tobirama, and gets ready to start setting his plan into motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Here's the second chapter, its still a little slow cause its the beginning, but it'll spped up soon once we get into the meat of things!

His Otouto was pretty. Hashirama had known that since he had first held his precious brother in his arms the day he was born. From his silvery white hair, to his startlingly ruby red eyes, even his moon pale skin was beautiful. 

It was so much easier to admire his little brother while he was unconscious, and out here in their little outpost he didn’t have to worry about anyone noticing him admiring Tobirama. He could look his fill as much as he wanted without any of the elders griping about how he and Tobirama have yet to marry anyone. 

He nuzzled his face against the top of Tobirama’s head, hefting his brother up a little more so that he was resting with his back against his chest. His hands roamed over the planes of Tobirama’s chest, slipping in under the soft fabric of his yukata to feel the warmth of his skin. 

He wasn’t looking forward to the times ahead when he’d have to do completely without his Tobira, but it was necessary. He needed his brother out of the way and most of all _safe_ for the rest of his plan to fall into place. Hashirama loved his brother with all his heart, but Tobirama would more than likely get in the way. Not purposely, of course, it was just that Tobira had a bad habit of accidentally screwing up his plans without even realizing that Hashirama _had_ been planning something. 

Tobirama was just trying to keep him safe and take some of the clan pressures off of him, but it was still screwing up his hard thought out plans. 

“But this time my plan will work,” he said softly into his brothers hair, cuddling him a little bit closer, “and you’ll be safe until everything is done and over with, I promise.” 

He let his eyes wander around the little outpost they were in. It was mostly barren, having not been used for years. Even the few things that he and Tobirama had stored here for during his spring rages were all weathered or gone. The only things that remained were the futons he had brought to lay his brother on, the discarded armor and clothing that Tobirama had been wearing when they arrived and the seals that coated almost every inch of the inside of the outpost. 

Seals to hide the occupants, seals to shield the outpost from view, seals to keep others out. They were drawn up and down the walls, across the thresholds and a few even scattered on the outside of the walls. All meant to keep others out, and only allow himself and Tobirama in. It had been necessary at first, he had been a menace during his first few rages, driven to near madness by the constant battering of his mokuton against his senses and his chakra. The call of the plants to rip through the earth, to sprout and seed and pollinate, had been all he could focus on for weeks after spring truly set in. 

The only thing that had managed to soothe the mania growing within him had been Tobirama. His wondrous little brother had been the one to figure out that it was his mokuton that was causing problems, that it was his mokuton that had tied him into the thoughts of all the nature around them so keenly. Anyone else would have thought him completely mad had he gone to them talking of plants whispering to him, telling him to drive his roots deep and force his way to the surface, telling him to pollinate and spread himself across the world until there was nothing left but him and his progeny. But not his Tobira. 

No. 

His Tobira had found a way to teach him control, had found a way to channel that anger and rage into something that allowed him to flourish and blossom. Had he not had Tobirama by his side he would have surely gone mad, lost his mind to the calling of the earth, been barely more than the trees he was able to grow. 

But his brother _had_ been there for him, and _had_ found a way for him to gain control back. And now he was one of, if not _the_ most powerful shinobi in Fire Country because of that control. 

“I’ve never managed to thank you for all the things you’ve done for me otouto,” He whispered, leaning down to press a gentle kiss against his brothers forehead, though even a rough touch wouldn’t have awoken him, “Hopefully peace and a village will be enough of a thanks.” 

Hashirama gently laid his limp brother down on the futon and instead grabbed for his pale wrist. The hand he held in his was deceptively thin, and shockingly white against his own tanned skin. Had he not seen first hand the sheer amount of death and damage these hands had dealt he would have never believed something so delicate and fine boned would be able to deliver such blows. His brothers hand resembled more the hands of a courtesan than they did a shinobi. His moon white skin was soft and smooth, the result of years of ointments and creams being slathered over it to protect him from the sun and its harsh rays. 

He brought that hand up to his mouth, kissing each digit softly before pressing a final kiss to the middle of his palm. Then he turned his focus to the shadows of his veins beneath the pale skin of his wrists, blue as bruises, as the rush of his blood beat against Hashirama’s fingertips. The skin seemed paper thin over top of his wrist bones, and Hashirama kept his touch light as he felt around for one of the bigger veins in the middle of that dainty wrist. 

When he found one he said a silent thank you to his brother for creating the syringes they now used to dispense medicine. It made giving his Tobira the concoction of plant matter that he had created to keep him sleeping much easier than if he had had to shove it down his throat while he was unconscious. It also completely did away with the chance of his brother choking on said concoction. 

The thin needle slid easily under his brother's skin, and the drugs he created dispensed just as easy as he depressed the plunger. Tobirama’s face pinched up slightly at the sting from the needle, but the pollen he had breathed in earlier kept him fast asleep. Hashirama caressed his fingertips over the tiny red mark that was left behind as he pulled out the needle. 

“That should keep you asleep for a week or two, Tobira,” He sighed again when he moved his little brother to lay in the center of the futons and spread two of the blankets he had stored here before over top of him. It was the beginning of spring, but there was still a bit of a chill in the air and he didn’t want Tobirama to get cold while he slept, “I’ll be coming back to check on you and give you your next dose before you wake up. You’ll be alright here until then, right otouto?” 

His brother didn’t answer him, not with the pollen and the drug coursing through his system and keeping him deep within the veil of sleep. If it weren’t for the fact that Hashirama _knew_ his brother was okay he would assume he was dead with how deeply he was sleeping. 

He smoothed his thumb over the little tension lines above Tobirama’s brow. No matter how much he knew he needed to leave and get back to the compound before someone from the clan realized he an Tobirama were both gone, he was incredibly reluctant to leave his brother here on his own. 

What if the weather changed drastically? His brother would be out here, alone and asleep, without anyone to watch over him or take care of him. 

“Hmm,” His finger rested on his bottom lip as he thought over his options. Now that he truly thought it over, there was no way he could just leave his brother here alone. Not only would he have to worry about the weather, but his Tobira would be starving if he left him here without someone to feed him, and his brother _hated_ being dirty and unwashed! But he obviously couldn’t leave him here awake! He would definitely try to leave and come back to the compound if he was awake. “Ah!” 

He turned back to Tobirama with a bright smile. “I know what I’ll do, Tobira! I can leave a clone here to take care of you, and then I won’t have to worry about the weather or you being hungry or anything!” 

Hashirama quickly made the tiger, dog, snake handseals, watching with a smile as another him popped into existence on the other side of the futons. 

With one of his wood clones here he wouldn’t have to worry, and his clone would tell him of anything that went wrong while he was away. 

“Alright, I better get going, Otouto, but I promise I’ll be back within the week to visit you and then again when it's time to give you more medicine.” His clone looked on as he kissed his brothers cheeks and stood to leave. 

He gave a stern nod to his clone, who merely nodded back, before he turned and left the outpost. 

He had a plan to set into motion after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it, feel free to let me know what you thought or if you might wanna see anything specific in the comments!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hashirama starts plotting and visits his little brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyy, here's chapter 3! Sorry about the delay, I got distracted by tiny bunny Tobirama.

* * *

The outpost was filled with the sound of trickling water and Hashirama’s humming. It had been a long and tiring week and a half without his little brother there to help him. The paperwork had stressed him out - not to mention gave his hands several painful cramps - the sheer amount of clan affairs he had to mediate stressed him out, almost _everything_ was stressing him out. 

And that wasn’t even mentioning having to balance the clans coffers! 

His Tobira had always said he wasn’t good at math, and now he clearly had the proof. 

He didn’t actually realize just how much of the clan’s work Tobirama did for him. Maybe he should grow him a few more blueberry bushes in the garden as thanks for when he comes back to the compound. And a pear tree. His brother loved pears, almost as much as he loved blueberries. 

But this wasn’t the time to think about all of that stuff. He was here, in their outpost, with his last little brother. This was a time for him to relax, and take care of Tobirama and maybe even talk over his plans for peace a little bit. Tobirama wouldn’t be able to respond to him of course, but just being in his brothers presence and being able to voice his thoughts will be more than enough for him to figure out how to proceed to the next step of his plan. 

“You’re bath is almost ready Tobira!” His only answer was the soft even breaths that his brother was taking, those breaths were really the only thing that showed Hashirama his brother was still alive and unharmed. 

When he turned back to check on his little brother, he couldn’t help but smile. His brother was right where he left him when he came back this morning, resting on his back, wrapped in Hashirama’s yukata and sleeping the day away peacefully. Nothing of note had happened while his clone was watching over Tobirama, so he was still pretty much in the same position that Hashirama had first put him in. 

He dipped his hand in the bathwater one more time to check the temperature, and when he was satisfied he stood up. He walked over to his brother and gently stripped him of his clothes. The clone he had left with Tobirama had given him a cursory sponge bath at the end of every day, to keep him clean and healthy, but Hashirama knew the one thing that Tobirama allowed himself to indulge in was baths. 

Tobirama _loved_ being surrounded by water. He would soak for hours if he didn’t have duties to attend too, and since it was just him and Tobira out here, no one was there to stop his Tobira from getting a nice, long soak in the bath. 

He hefted Tobirama into his arms, frowning slightly at how light his brother was, and carried him to the giant wooden tub he had made. It wasn’t the most luxurious tub his brother had ever been in, given that it was just a giant bowl made out of the wood from Hashirama’s mokuton, but it would do the job. 

It was more than big enough to fit both of them. It could probably fit at least four full grown shinobi if Hashirama was being honest with himself! 

Hashirama unleashed a tiny bit of his chakra, just enough to get some vines to sprout, so that he had some help relieve himself of the yukata he was wearing. The yukata dropped to the floor behind him as he carefully stepped into the bath, lowering himself and his brother until they were both in the water, with Hashirama sitting in the tub and Tobirama cradled carefully on his lap. 

He couldn’t stop himself from humming happily as he picked up the sponge next to the tub and lathered it up with soap. He ran the sponge over his brothers skin, rubbing it in smooth circles, washing off all the dead skin that had built up over the past few days. He knew very well that his brother hated being dirty, so he was going to be _extremely_ thorough about making sure his little brother was clean. 

“You wouldn’t believe just how much I’ve gotten done for peace in this last week Tobi,” Hashirama sighed softly as he thought over what he had accomplished, “I’ve already set some new things into motion, and I’ve figured out which elders and clansmen I need to get rid of to have peace. It’s a few more than I had originally anticipated, but I’ll just have to do what I need to.”

It had been a hard decision, figuring out which clansmen and elders had to die in the name of peace. But it was completely necessary. He wouldn’t be able to secure peace with the amount of Senju that were still raging against it. 

It would be trickier to kill off the Uchiha clansmen than it would be to kill off his own, given that he didn’t have direct access to them. But he had already gotten some of his seeds into the Uchiha compound by pretty much throwing them on Madara during their last battle - not that Madara knew he was carrying the seeds back - and with it being the beginning of spring his seeds blooming will be just brushed off as random wildflowers sprouting up around the compound. 

He would have to wait until his Chrysanthemums got him a more in-depth look at the movements and political leanings of the Uchiha Elders and the Uchiha clansmen before he started plotting on how he could pick them off individually. He was hoping to get that information around the mid-way mark of his plans for the Senju elders, that way he could space them out and not have it look like someone was full on targeting the Uchiha clan. 

For his own clan, the first two he needed to get rid of were Elder Korenaga and Elder Nariko.

“I’ve already hired the assassin to kill Elder Korenaga when he goes to visit his daughter in mid-summer.” He paused slightly as he mulled something over, and then he gently patted his brothers chest, “And don’t you worry your pretty little head about it, I hired someone from Rain to find the assassin I want for the job, and to pay him to take Korenaga out. And I used a henge and an alias when I hired them, that way if Korenaga somehow manages to capture the assassin he won’t be able to tell anyone it was me.” Hashirama said happily. “So you don’t have to worry about it coming back and blowing up in my face!” 

“It’ll still be another two and a half months before he gets killed, sure, but at least it's already in motion. As for Elder Nariko...”

He sighed, thinking of the last few days that he had spent going back and forth between a few different variations of the same plan for Elder Nariko. It wasn’t that his plans were >em>bad per say...it was just that all of them posed different problems to the plans that he already had for the other Elders down the road. 

But he needed Korenaga and Nariko killed first before the others could be taken out. While they weren’t the two most vocal about not wanting the peace, they were the ones that had the largest parts in negotiating peace treaties and ceasefires and they were just generally included in anything that had to do with new laws or policies within the clan. 

Which was why he was so frustrated! He needed them dead and no matter what he thought of, he couldn’t figure out how to kill Nariko without alerting his clan to his plans!

A twitch from his brother had Hashirama stopping his ministrations and frowning. When he looked down he realized that he must’ve gotten a little lost in his thoughts, and in his frustration he had scrubbed his brothers skin a little _too_ hard. His brothers poor chest had a patch of rough, reddened skin right above his left nipple. Hashirama crooned out an apology to his little brother and gently ran his hand over top of the wound to heal it. 

Perhaps he should let his mind drift away from his plans just a little bit while he cared for Tobirama, he wouldn’t want any further frustration to be taken out on his brother. 

When he was done scrubbing any dirt and dried sweat that was on Tobirama, he used his vines to bring over a pail. He made quick work of getting his brother hair wet, but he took his time massaging the shampoo into that soft silvery hair. 

His brother suffered from migraines after all, and one of the best cures for them was a head massage. And Hashirama’s head massages had always done wonders in soothing his otouto’s pain. Besides, Hashirama wasn’t completely sure that the drug he had been giving Tobirama would keep him from getting migraines in his sleep, and his poor brother couldn’t tell him if he had a migraine, so he might as well preemptively help him! 

It was only once he was done washing lathering shampoo into his brothers hair that he was calm enough to start thinking about his plans again. His main reason for being here was to take care of his Tobira and bask in his presence but he did want to take the chance to talk over his plans while he was with his brother. 

Hashirama let his fingers dip down from his brothers hair and rub soothing circles over his temples. He thought back to the first plan he had wanted to use to get rid of Elder Nariko. “My original plan for Elder Nariko was to just have a ‘freak accident’ take her out, given that she is one of the few elders that still leaves the compound, but once I really got thinking about how I needed to get rid of everyone, I realized that an accident wouldn’t work for her, since I’m going to use an ‘accident’ to kill Elder Michiko.”

He huffed. “Tobi, the only other thing I can think of is to just kill her outright and make it look like an assassination! Except, between her and Elder Korenaga getting assassinated, it’ll be too suspicious and it might send the clan into high alert before I can get rid of everyone I need to kill...” 

His voice slowly trailed off into nothing as warm water splashed across his chest, along with a series of bubbles from the shampoo as the vines poured a pail full of water over Tobirama’s head. He couldn’t help but let his eyes roam over his otouto as a second pail of water splashed over them to fully rid his hair of any suds. It wasn’t his fault his mind kept wandering every time something reminded him he was in the same bath as Tobi, really! His brother just looked so pretty! 

All that beautiful white skin on full display, his soft hair whispering across the skin of Hashirama’s chest, his full lips glistening with little droplets of water. How could anyone resist focusing on his Tobira? And with him asleep, depending on him for protection and care, and whatever else he might need, completely at his Anija’s mercy.... 

No! 

Hashirama shook himself out of his thoughts before they could spiral too far. He quickly retracted his hand from below the water, it having drifted further and further down his brothers body as he thoughts ran astray. 

He needed to focus. Focus focus focus. Think about murdering the clan Elders that stood in the way of getting peace. Think about Elder Korenaga’s soon to be dead body, Elder Kaoru naked...there we go! Now he was focused again, and definitely not thinking of what a pretty picture his otouto makes resting fully naked against his chest or how cute his cock was or what his face would look like in the throes of passion. 

Damn it. Now his mind was unfocused again. 

Hashirama bit his lip, looking down at where his Tobira was peacefully sleeping on him. Masturbating was completely normal, and something everyone did. Surely his brother wouldn’t mind him masturbating with him near? They had bathed together almost their whole lives, and slept in the same bed for most of their lives as well. Masturbating wasn’t really _that_ far from those...right?

Right.

With his mind eased, Hashirama shifted Tobirama until he was half on his lap and half off of him, just enough that he could get a good grip on his cock. Then of course he had an even better idea! His brother was right there. His Tobira wouldn’t mind helping his brother out, would he? 

His brother was always saying that he didn’t mind helping his Anija, and this was just something else he could help with! It was a bit unorthodox but Tobirama was constantly doing things out of the ordinary. 

Hashirama reached over to take a hold of his brothers hand, letting his vines take the brunt of Tobirama’s weight to keep him from slipping into the water as he wrapped those long, delicate fingers around his cock. 

A low groan slipped through his lips as he guided that hand up and down his cock. It felt like heaven. Why hadn’t he done this before? 

The water only helped Tobirama’s hand glide smoothly. He tried to keep the rhythm smooth, but the more he fucked into that loose fist the more his hips skipped. He couldn’t help it, he had been so pent up these last couple of weeks, a stiff wind might’ve been enough to have him spending his seed. 

As it turned out, it just took him pressing his brothers thumb over his slit and twisting that hand around under the head of his dick for him to cum. It was slightly embarrassing to come that quickly, but his brother wasn’t awake to witness his shame so it doesn’t really matter! His brother wouldn’t remember it, and Hashirama could give him a better showing later, once he was awake.

Now that his mind was clear again - and because the water was getting a bit cool - he decided it was about time to get his brother out of the bath. He didn’t want his otouto to turn into a prune after all, and having his brother clothed again should be enough to get him back on track to thinking about his plans!

He easily lifted himself and his brother out of the tub, and stepped over to the other side of the room where he had laid out a set of towels and some new clothing for his brother. He set him down on the towel, and quickly dried himself off and shrugged on a loose yukata before toweling his brother off and drying his hair with a separate towel. 

The yukata he chose to dress his brother in this time was and older one. It was a gift given to him for his fifteenth birthday, after his last growth spurt, so it was more than big enough to fit Tobirama with room to spare. And he’d worn it enough that his scent never truly left no matter how much it was washed. It was perfect. 

The soft blue colors of the fabric also looked better against Tobirama’s skin tone than it did Hashirama’s anyway. 

“There we go,” He crooned softly, brushing Tobirama’s hair out of his face. When he was sure he was all dry he moved him back over to his futons and swaddled him up in the extra blankets he had brought with him this time. “Okay where were we...Ah! Elder Nariko. I was thinking about killing her outright but that wouldn’t work, not only because Korenaga is getting assassinated, but also because she won’t be leaving the compound anytime soon since she’s sick.” 

Hashirama started playing with Tobirama’s hair, hoping another solution might come to him. Oh! He knew what he could do! 

“Maybe I could use the illness?” He asked Tobirama. When he obviously didn’t get a response he continued his train of thought, “I mean, she gets the same illness every year, and I’ve been taking care of her for the last ten years. I could slip some seeds into her medication, or just have her breathe them in and once they are in her lungs they can secrete some sap, eventually enough of it would suffocate her.” 

He hummed as the plan slid into place in his mind. “Yes...and since I would be taking care of her no one would think twice about the clan head declaring her dead from an illness that she's been battling most of her life.” 

Hashirama petted his brothers head excitedly as he thought about how that would slot into place with the other plans he had. It would work perfectly, and it wouldn’t alert a single clan member! It wasn’t as if Elder Nariko had any surviving immediate family who might question his decision of her illness killing her. 

“This is going to work perfectly, Tobi!” He leaned down to kiss his brothers brow and cuddled him a little closer. He didn’t even try to stop himself from planting more kisses along his otouto’s face, and a few on those soft lips of his, he was too happy that he got over his planning roadblock to worry about any taboo’s he was breaking. 

And now that he’d got the planning he had come here worrying about done, he can enjoy the rest of his time with his little brother. 

His brother deserved a nice, long, soothing full body massage for helping him figure out his plans...and maybe Hashirama should also reciprocate his earlier ‘relief’ on his brother. 

Masturbation is natural after all, and the male body needs it to truly be healthy...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know in the comments if you did!


	4. Chapter 4 - A Reckoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hashirama continues plotting, and then decides to switch things up a bit. All because he misses his little brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! Sorry this chapter took so long, I started up at college again and it was a super hectic first couple weeks. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I _promise_ we'll be getting some Uchiha action soon enough. Just not yet.

* * *

Hashirama was bored. So incredibly bored. He didn’t understand how Tobirama managed to do all this paperwork day in and day out when it was pretty much driving him insane from just the sheer boredom. 

Perhaps it was time he took a break, he’d been at this all day after all, and he’d done all the paperwork that was time sensitive first. The only thing he still had left to do was just finish filling out some routine forms for requests throughout the compound.

He set them aside with a smile, making sure to label the stack of papers with the brightly colored little labels his brother had made to ensure the papers caught his attention. As he stood up from his desk, he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, relieved to feel his muscles loosening after all the time he spent hunched over his desk. 

Part of him wanted to go get some lunch, and maybe spend some of his break out in the garden to soak up some of the afternoon sun, but another part of him wanted some comfort in the form of his little brother. He couldn’t go out to the outpost, not with the clan meeting he had later, but he hadn’t been in Tobira’s lab since a few weeks before his brother went on his ‘extended mission’. 

There was a bedroom - technically it was more like a little storage room off to the edge of the lab with a futon and some of the things he had from their brothers and mother - that he knew would have his brothers scent ingrained into it, and he could take a nap down there to feel closer to his precious otouto. 

Mind made up, he left his office and meandered around the kitchen preparing himself a simple lunch of grilled fish and soup he had left over from the night before. When he was done eating his food, since Tobirama refused to allow him to bring food into his lab, he headed into his brother’s little office and through the sealed passageway to the entrance of his lab. 

The seals along the opening and along the passageway flared up as he walked, and after shooting a small tendril of chakra into them they dulled to let him pass. The entrance to the lab did give him a bit of a harder time about opening up but it eventually allowed him inside. 

There wasn’t much to the lab. It was filled with rows upon rows of sealed scrolls and books and even more scrolls, along with some workbenches that were full of glass beakers and jars. Hashirama didn’t know what half of the stuff in Tobirama’s lab did or what it was for. Not that that mattered much to him, Tobirama knew what everything was and what it did, and Hashirama trusted that he would come tell him if he knew he was making something Hashirama wouldn’t approve of. His brother had done that with every jutsu he had made that ended up being banned so Hashirama had no reason to worry. 

His Tobira was _such_ a good little brother. 

He wandered through the lab a little bit, looking at the few stacks of paper that had been left out, clearly his brother had been planning to return to his research once the whole ‘spring rage’ fiasco was over. He thumbed through some of the papers, most of it nonsensical stuff he wouldn't have understood even with his precious brother there to talk him through it, until he hit a set of papers that looked a bit like blueprints for some kind of building. 

That piqued his curiosity. 

Perhaps his little brother had been planning to propose an addition to the clan compound? Tobirama had been talking about the possibility of an orphanage of sorts for the children of their clan whose parents had been killed during the fighting between them and the Uchiha’s. It wasn’t by any means a far-fetched idea, but his brother always loved semantics and had probably drawn up a building plan for a proposal even though the whole clan would have agreed to it with barely any prompting. 

Hashirama picked up the stack of papers with a shrug, figuring that he could take it with him to the little room in the back and read through them after he was done taking a short nap. 

\-------

* * *

The stack of paper and plans was still staring him in the face when he woke up. He loathed to get out of the warm cocoon of blankets he was in, but he really did want to see what all his brother had been planning. 

He rolled a _teensy_ bit closer, blankets still firmly wrapped around him and then flicked his chakra just enough to have a vine push the stack to the edge of his futon. He grabbed the first blueprint, the one he had gotten a glimpse of in the lab and started reading it. 

It was an orphanage like he had thought, though it was way more in depth and way bigger than he had assumed at first glance and it seemed as though it was being made to house more than just the Senju clans orphans. It was far too big to just be for their own clans use. Perhaps his brother was thinking of trying to take in some of the civilian children that lived in the nearby villages? 

His brother did love children after all, it wouldn’t be out of character for him to have included orphans from people other than just their clan mates, and it would make sense for why he felt the need to draw up a whole plan for it including a budget for both the building and the people needed to staff the orphanage.

He flipped through the rest of the schematics, skimming over the different floor plans and then chuckling when he saw the adorable little scribbles all over the margins of the pages. 

When he was done looking at the bits he could actually understand he moved onto the next set of papers. Which were ranking systems? Ranking systems for shinobi and missions and rankings for children in an academy, ranks for different administrative paperwork... 

Hashirama nearly threw the blanket across the room as he scrambled to sit up, placing the papers next to him as he grabbed for the next stack and started looking through it. These ones were more blueprints, this time for _several_ compounds. All different ones, all labelled with clan names. Senju, Uchiha, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Nara, and even more. All with little notes floating around everywhere about what each clan might need or might want.

A compound backing into the forest for the Nara to raise their deer, forges built for mass metalworking and weapon making in a Uchiha compound, another compound backing the forest labelled for the Hatake and their wolves, fertile land right off a new Senju compound for agriculture. 

He could feel his breathing pick up as his eyes raked over the information. Very gently and making sure he didn’t put the papers out of order he grabbed the next set with trembling hands. 

His breath left him as a shuddery gasp. 

This was a peace treaty. 

For the Senju and the Uchiha. 

A very _very_ extensive treaty, with fair concessions and terms for BOTH clans. This was a plan for peace, a good plan for substantial, long lasting peace. And the other plans…those were plans for a village. An ACTUAL village. Not the hair-brained pipe-dream of a village that he and Madara had talked about down at the river. A village not only for the Uchiha and the Senju, but for other clans as well. 

And if they used those plans that his brother had drawn up, then it wouldn’t just be for Shinobi either, there had been housing sections for civilians and a big bustling marketplace. 

Hashirama was too busy staring at the papers to even notice that he had started crying, he didn’t even know until tears dripped onto his hands and onto the papers. 

His brother had been working towards peace this whole time. These plans must’ve been in the works for years! His beautiful, amazing, brilliant little brother had made concrete plans for not only peace but for a village. He had known that his brother didn’t outright oppose peace, rather Tobirama just thought that the Uchiha’s would never actually agree to it, but he hadn’t thought Tobirama would actively help with fulfilling that dream. 

God, he desperately wanted to go to his brother and sweep him up into his arms and never let him go. But he couldn’t, because his brother was squirreled away up north in their outpost. 

“....maybe I could bring him back home?” Hashirama asked the still air. He really thought about it, about where he could possibly keep him that he would be out of sight of anyone else, since everyone thought he was gone on a long term mission and because Hashirama had no excuse for him to be unconscious for a significant amount of time without the rest of the clan worrying. 

He could possibly pretend as though he had gotten a distress call from his brothers summons, and that he had found him injured and unconscious...but that would throw a significant wrench in his later plans.

He didn’t have anywhere that he could realistically keep him right around the compound that would be safe, secure AND keep him fully out of sight of every single clan member.

Wait. That wasn’t completely true. He could use his little brother’s lab! 

Tobira’s lab was off limits to everyone but Hashirama and Tobirama. The rest of the clan - barring possibly Touka when Tobirama was also in the lab - was completely banned from the lab to make sure that no one got hurt or screwed up any experiments. He could sneak his brother back into the compound and into his lab and hide him here until he was ready. 

The only problem he might run into is that even unconscious his brother’s chakra signature was not easy to miss. If someone like Touka sensed him returning to the compound they’d want to have him return to his duties within the clan, and Touka would most definitely want to see Tobira after he’d been away for so long. There was no way he’d be able to deter Touka from constantly trying to break into the lab to see her cousin.

But….

His brother had created multiple different ways to seal chakra away and to make chakra signatures non-existent to even some of the best sensors. Maybe he could just take one of those seals, stick it on Tobira and activate it and then he’d be free to sneak his brother back into the house and then down into his lab without even a sensor like Touka noticing? And she wouldn’t be able to feel his chakra to try and come find him while he was being kept in the lab. 

It was a foolproof plan! 

It would also mean that he could be with his brother every day and take care of him himself instead of leaving him with a clone for days on end. He could come down here every night to sleep next to his otouto and make sure he was safe and happy better than he could ever have done at the outpost. 

He would have to spruce up this little room in the lab though. He didn’t want his brother sleeping in this bare, cold room. He could find some plants that don’t need much sunlight to make the room homier and buy some new blankets and put some of Tobi’s trinkets around as well. Maybe he could even bring a few things out of storage to brighten everything up.

Hashirama stood up quickly, grabbing all the papers and practically running to put them back where he had found them so that he could get the chakra seals and head back up to his office. As soon as he was done his paperwork for the day, he’d go get his brother and bring him home where he belonged. 

\-----

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter guys, I hope you like it, be sure to let me know in the comments!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhh this chapter is super short and barely edited but I just wanted to get SOMETHING out because it has been so long since ive updated. Hope you guys like it! There will probably be another chapter out soon since this one is hella short.

* * *

The lab was perfect. It had taken quite a bit longer than he had originally intended to actually get everything set up, every time he moved or changed one thing, another three things would pop into his mind to be changed. 

But now it was perfect and that was all that mattered! He added a few plants that needed very little sunlight to lighten up the room, and he had changed most of the layout of the little side room that Tobirama always used as a bedroom to make it more appealing. 

He had done his best to carefully move everything around, since he didn’t want to disturb any of his brother's work, but it was all necessary. He didn’t want his little brother spending his time in some dark and dank little closet. Now the room was much bigger, closer to the size of their bedroom in the main house. He had also splurged a little bit...well, perhaps more than a ‘little bit’...on a new futon that was much more comfortable than the one that was already in the lab. He had also looked through all of the old boxes of belongings from their mother and younger brothers and found several of the quilts that their mother had made them over the years. 

The quilts were now piled high atop the futon, and he had even brought out some of Itama and Kawarama’s old yukatas and their favored weapons to hang them on the walls. It was a strange choice to say the least, but as he had been going through the old boxes he had remembered Tobirama saying that even though it had been years since their brothers had passed, he could still feel little remnants of their chakra within the things their favorite possessions. 

His last little brother deserved something nice. And what would be nicer than being surrounded by his Anija and what little could still be found of his long lost Otouto’s? 

Everything was in place. Now he just needed to wait until nightfall for everyone to be asleep.

* * *

Hashirama had to admit that the walk to the old outpost was a bit....unsettling, even to him, at nighttime. The old stone building had a very _strange_ aura around it. He knew that said strange aura was, in part, his fault. They had always used this outpost to shelter them while he had gone through the spring rages of his younger years, and no matter what he or Tobirama had tried to do, anything he managed to grow during his spring rage always turned out just a bit wrong. The canopies of the trees were always a bit too dark, the trunks always a little warped, the animals that managed to make the forest their home were always a tad too big and far more vicious than any others outside his little forest. 

When he had originally plotted to bring Tobirama here while his plans were enacted, the strangeness of his forest had seemed like a good thing when coupled with the fact that his brother’s seals would always keep the vegetation and the animals away from the clearing around the outpost. But now, in the dead of night when he was planning to bring his Tobira home, that once comforting strangeness seemed to be more daunting than usual. It wasn’t often that Hashirama felt unsettled, especially given that his mokuton always kept him in tune with everything in his general vicinity.  
It also didn’t help that as he moved through the thick forest to the edge of the outposts clearing that all the animal activity that would normally set the night alight with sounds had died down completely. 

Out of habit he reached out his vines, letting them curl along the ground and through the trees, coaxing the gnarled branches and yellowed leaves to give him information. The foliage simply chimed out that nothing was out of the ordinary. The response didn’t lessen the feeling of something watching him, but he elected to ignore the feeling in favor of getting his brother back home sooner rather than later. 

The wood clone he had guarding the outpost at all times easily followed behind him without so much as a word as Hashirama moved over the threshold. 

His clone informed him of some small inconsequential changes, mostly that Tobirama had seemed to be restless and slightly agitated a few of the days that Hashirama had been gone, as he walked his way to where Tobira was. 

Just like he expected, Tobira was practically unmoved from the last time he had seen him. He took a few lingering moments to drink in the sight of his last little brother. His skin almost seemed to glow from the moonlight that just barely peeked in through the windows. 

He looked far more delicate and dainty than Hashirama had ever seen him before. His white hair, his even whiter skin, the deep reds of the seal work on his face. It all painted him in such a fragile light. 

Every time he came to visit him he looked more and more fragile. Granted, he had lost quite a bit of muscle tone given that he was doing nothing more than laying down for the last several weeks, but that information was easily disregarded. After all, that just meant that once Hashirama’s peace was in place, his little brother would be even more dependent on his Anija helping him. 

His hands couldn’t help but trace over the lines of his face, tracing the shadow of his jaw line and ending up at the plush skin of his lips. His brother was truly a masterpiece. 

“When was the last time his medicine was administered?” 

The clone barely moved from its guardian position near the door to respond to him, “Six days ago.”  


Hashirama nodded. He motioned with his free hand for the clone to come closer as the other hand dug into the pouch on his armor, pulling out a small scroll. He handed the scroll to the clone. “Put everything in here into the scroll, then you can disperse,” Hashirama gently gathered his brother into his arms, with one of the blankets from the bed pulled around him to keep the evening chill away. 

He wandered throughout the outpost and started pulling his chakra from the seals as the clone gathered up the remaining blankets, the futon and the assorted lotions and oils that were in the room. Once all the seals had been deactivated, and the scroll given back to him the clone dispersed and he started heading home, his mind already focused on what he was going to change in Tobira’s ‘medication’ to make sure that he wont wake up anytime soon. 

In fact, he was so focused that he didn’t notice one of the trees nearest to the outpost warping to reveal two angry amber eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think!


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

“Touka!” Hashirama made sure to plaster on his brightest smile as his cousin turned to him. “How did your mission go?” 

“It was fine.”

“Really,” Hashirama stepped closer, linking his arm with his cousin’s and turning her to head back towards the main house. It was a ballsy move to take her into the main house, knowing full well that she was the clan's best sensor after Tobirama and that he specifically _didn’t_ want her to be able to sense Tobira while he was in his lab. 

But he needed to make sure that she wouldn’t be able to sense him at all even when right near the lab, and he’d much rather test it while he was there to interfere if she did manage to sense Tobirama, rather than leave it to chance and have her sense him while Hashirama was away. 

“Do you think the Iburi clan will be allying themselves with us?”

Touka huffed, “They seemed open to the idea, but I wasn’t able to secure a treaty yet, so I’ll be going back later.” 

“Was there a reason for them to decline the alliance?” 

“They didn’t have a specific reason,” She said, “But they were interested in some of the seal work that Tobirama had sent along with me to entice them, and they asked several times if they could talk to the shinobi who made the sealwork, so I told them I could leave and return with Tobirama. Hopefully once he answers whatever questions they have about the seals, they’ll just go ahead and agree to an alliance.” 

Hashirama barely stopped himself from cringing. While he knew that it would be a bit of a hassle to bring the reclusive Iburi clan into an alliance with the Senju, he had hoped that the experimental seals Tobirama had made to keep their smoke forms from dispersing in the wind would be enough to bring them into the fold, with a more perfected version of the seal being finished and distributed upon completion of an alliance agreement. Them wanting to _meet_ Tobirama before agreeing to anything would throw quite a wrench into things, considering Tobirama would be MIA for at least a couple more weeks -if not months - with the pace his plans were going at this point. 

His original plan for peace had revolved mostly around the Uchiha and Senju clans uniting, but with the new information provided by his Tobira’s ‘secret’ plans for a village, and the multitude of peace treaties his beloved brother had set out for almost every clan in Fire country, it was clear to him now that uniting with only the Uchiha clan and trying to create a village with them alone might be detrimental in the end. After all, if the two strongest shinobi clans in Fire country suddenly decided to take up arms _with_ each other instead of against each other, it might send the wrong message to all the other shinobi clans. 

Hashirama didn’t want to stop the war with the Uchiha only to end up in a war, or several wars, with other clans because they mistakenly assumed that the Senju and Uchiha intended to join forces to take over all of Fire. Which was why Hashirama had sent Touka to meet with the Iburi clan in the first place. Well, partially why. He wanted as many clans as possible to ally themselves with the Senju so that they would be able to assimilate into the village easier once it was built, but he also needed Touka out of the clan compound so that he could move Tobirama into his lab without her sensing him. 

Personally, he hadn’t even thought of what the other shinobi clans might think of an alliance between the Senju and Uchiha, but his brother had ear marked several of the treaties meant for the other clans in Fire country with notes about how they might possibly perceive different iterations of an alliance between the Senju and the Uchiha. There were also a few pages on how the Daimyo might perceive their alliance, and their subsequent village, given that the continued war between their two clans had some advantages to the Daimyo and his samurai. 

But this isn’t what he should be focusing on. 

He mentally shook himself a bit as he refocused onto the conversation at hand. They were still moving towards the main house and somehow, thankfully, Touka hadn’t seemed to notice his momentary lapse in focus. Or, perhaps she had, but elected to ignore it. Either way, she was still talking about the Iburi clan, and what they had offered in exchange for the sealwork if they ended up agreeing to an alliance. 

“They mostly offered jewels and minerals that they’ve mined in their caves in return for the seals that Tobirama has made as well as some crops from the clan in general,” Touka said, “But they still want to meet him and see if there are any plans for further seals that might help stabilize their kekkei genkai. Both sides agreed to keep the line of communication open on an alliance while I came back to get Tobirama.” 

He cleared his throat as they stepped over the threshold into the main house. “Yes...about that,” he started, “Tobirama isn’t here.” 

“What?” His cousin’s voice was fierce and he could easily read her annoyance, even without her face showing it, “He was supposed to be back from his last mission nearly a week ago,” She hissed, already making to turn right around and march back out the door, “who was sent after him? Where and when was his last check-in.” 

“Touka -” 

Already, his plants were warning him of his cousin’s mounting anger. “You haven’t sent anyone after him, have you.” 

“He came back from that mission earlier than we thought he would, but he was unscathed. I had to immediately send him on another solo mission right after he got back, sadly. He’s going to be gone for a while, but I’m sure the Iburi clan will understand and hold fast until he’s available to meet with them.” 

Flat black eyes squinted back at him, anger slowly simmering down to annoyance, “What kind of mission is he on now?” 

Great. Now his cousin was both annoyed _and_ suspicious. It was like she thought he didn’t know what kind of missions were appropriate for his little brother! 

“A lord from Water Country requested that Tobirama guard his daughters while he was away on business.” He put his hands in the air, his voice taking on a sheepish tone, trying to placate Touka as she glared at him. “Tobirama read over the mission parameters as soon as I saw that it requested him specifically, and he agreed to it!” 

“And this Lord won’t be _home_ at any point while Tobirama is ‘guarding’ his daughters, will he?” 

“That was only one time! And I’ve made sure that Tobi doesn’t go on any missions that remotely might end up as honeypot missions since then,” He huffed, “It’ll be a couple months at the most, and Tobirama will be -”

“Months?!” She hissed. 

She kind of reminded Hashirama of a very angry snake. “The lord has to travel to and from Water country for business, and figured it’d be easier to stay in Water country until the business deal is done, he wanted Tobirama to stay there until he was able to come back to Fire Country and stay here.” 

“Let me get this straight,” Touka started, already sounding like she was planning to kill someone, “Tobirama is off on a mission with an undetermined end date, he’s working for someone we’ve never taken missions from before, and that you’ve never personally met?”

Now he could feel himself starting to get annoyed. Everyone else in the clan hadn’t even questioned him when he told them that Tobirama would be gone on a mission for an undefined amount of time, in fact they barely even seemed to notice him announcing it at the last clan meeting. Yet his cousin is questioning every single detail? 

She acts as if he would ever _willingly_ put his brother in danger!   
He would never put his brother in harm's way, and Tobirama wasn’t even actually on a mission! 

“Tobirama was the one who took over communication with Lord Sammiya after I told him he was personally requested, and he agreed to take on the mission after getting more details.” Hashirama said, trying to keep his grin on his face even as he channeled his irritation into his nearby plants. Thankfully, knowing that Tobirama was right in his lab, and that he’d be able to go see him once he was done talking to Touka, allowed him to keep control of himself. “If he thought that there was something wrong with the mission, he wouldn’t have taken it, and besides, he set up a check in schedule with me until he is able to come back just like our clan has always done for these sorts of missions.” 

Touka left the room with a glare, and Hashirama waited for his poppies to let him know that she was nearing her own house before he went to visit his little brother.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An Elder gets exactly what he wanted. But what he wanted doesn't turn out to be what he thought it was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter guys! I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Elder Kaoru’s house was incredibly quiet as Hashirama walked in the front door. He slipped his shoes off onto the genkan and pulled on a set of slippers. Several thick vines wormed their way across the door, keeping it shut and blocking off the handle, though he kept his vines from blocking the handle on the outside. 

The closer he got to the back rooms of the house, the more he could hear the elder struggling. He stepped up the pace, crossing through the house until he opened the sliding door to Kaoru’s bedroom. 

He took a moment to take in the Elder’s state, the shortness of breath, the swelling in the legs and abdomen, the paleness and slight bloating around his face. 

“Hashirama.” Kaoru’s voice was creaky, grating, and honestly one of the most annoying voices he had had the displeasure of hearing lately. “What are you waiting for? Get over here and heal me.” He gestured roughly with his hand, beckoning his _clan head_ over like he was a small child. “My chest is killing me.”

Hashirama didn’t move from where he was leaning against the doorway. He watched coughs wrack Kaoru’s frame as he tried valiantly to sit himself up to no avail. 

Kaoru glared at him. “I said get over here, boy!” 

“I don’t think I will.” 

The elders glare changed to a flummoxed look almost instantly. 

“In fact,” Hashirama sneered, “I think I’ll sit right here,” his mokuton easily created a nice chair beneath him, “and watch you die.” He settled nicely into his chair. 

“What are you talking about?” 

He slumped back in his chair, getting comfortable as he focused on his mokuton. Then he forced a very tiny portion of vines to expand ever so slightly. 

The effect was immediate. Elder Kaoru bent himself almost in half, clutching at his chest as he gasped and gagged, all his muscles tensing. Hashirama let the expansion stay for a few minutes, taking glee in the pain on the old man’s face before letting the vines slowly regress back to their microscopic size. He could easily feel the rush of blood feeding back into Kaoru’s coronary arteries as soon as the vines shrank back to their original size. He could also feel the little bits of dead and dying cells from the prolonged loss of blood and oxygen. It wasn’t enough to kill him, not yet, but he’d be dying soon enough. 

Kaoru was still gasping as he straightened himself up, finally pushing himself to fully sit up, “What the hell have you done to -” 

“Did you know that Tobirama was the one to help me learn to control my Mokuton?” He interrupted. “I had some control over it, naturally, but nothing near the control I have now. He taught me how to manipulate it in more ways than just using it to utterly destroy everything in my way.” 

“He taught me how to make my vines so small, almost infinitesimal, how to manipulate seeds and pollen.” His voice was wistful as he thought back on the months he and his Tobira had spent training together, how many nights they had snuck out so that they could go into the forest where his powers were strongest and hone them. “All I need is to get someone to breathe in my pollen, or swallow a seed, or even just have a seed on their skin and I can manipulate their bodies. Like growing vines inside someone's heart or producing sap inside someone’s lungs until they drown.” 

There was a look of absolute horror on Elder Kaoru’s face as all the blood rushed from his face. His hand settled over his heart and his voice was faint. “ _You_ did this to me?” 

“Did what?” 

A trembling finger jabbed the air in his direction. “ _This_! You destroyed my heart from the inside out, and for what?! _Peace_ with our enemies? What kind of clan head are you?!” 

Hashirama felt his anger building in his chest. He could feel his chakra oozing out into the room, the tatami floor warping and buckling underneath them, and he just barely managed to pull himself back from spearing Kaoru alive where he rested. “No.” He said tersely. “I didn’t do this for peace.” 

He stood up and strode closer to Kaoru, not the least bit worried about the old man trying to attack him. He couldn’t hurt him even if he tried. “Elder Nariko’s death was for peace. Elder Korenaga’s assassination was for peace.” 

The old man’s eyes were getting wider and wider with every word. Hashirama could almost _see_ everything finally falling into place as realization set in. 

“Elder Chitose’s death, as unfortunate as it will be to kill her, will be for peace as well as Elder Heizo’s. Your death however, is not for peace. It’s purely for vengeance.” 

“Vengeance?” Kaoru hissed, “What reason for vengeance could you possibly have? I’ve never done anything that wasn’t in the clan's best interest and I’ve never done anything to you.” 

“You’re right. You haven't done anything to me in particular, but I’m getting revenge for Tobirama.”   
He sputtered, spittle flying from his mouth as he tried to move away from Hashirama when he took another step closer. He didn’t manage to move away, instead he only managed to knock his arm out from under himself and put himself on his back on the futon. “I haven’t done anything to that demon.” 

“You haven’t done anything?” The tatami warped even further. Planks of wood bent upwards and then snapped, twisting in towards Kaoru and pinning him to the futon. “You’ve spent Tobirama’s whole life torturing him, telling our father to torture him in the name of ‘training’ him. Anything he has ever suggested or tried to implement for the clan you have denied and berated him for.” His mokuton had regrown the walls in his anger, closing off the windows and drenching the room in darkness except for the candles Elder Kaoru had lit. “You spent _years_ convincing the parents of our clan to keep their children from him, refusing to let him teach, because he might ‘corrupt’ them.” 

“He needed to be made strong! The clan needed a spare that could actually withstand the Uchiha, especially when we had such a spineless, _weak_ clan heir!”

Hashirama could feel his control slipping even further, and soon enough any kind of control over his mokuton would be out of his reach. He wanted to drag this out, to watch as Kaoru faded away after watching him spend months slowly deteriorate but he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep control for that long. “He was a child. He needed to be safe, not strong!” He heard himself yell, “But none of you seem to think that. Children should have a place to be _children_ they should be able to play without fear of death, they should be able to learn at their own pace, not dying on battlefields fighting adults. They should be able to be happy, without worry about being sent on a mission they already know they have no hope of making it back from.” 

“Your demon of a brother was born worthless, and he stayed worthless. He should have died in your mother’s womb or been thrown out into the snow when he was born.” Kaoru spat. “If he was worth anything he would have killed you and taken your place as clan head like we told him too. Instead he stood behind you and _supported_ your stupid ‘dream’ of peace.” 

Those words were the last straw. Before Hashirama could even truly register what he was doing he had already expanded the vines inside of Kaoru’s heart to the point of bursting the delicate arteries lining his heart. It wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for the lack of blood flow to his heart to kill him, if the hemorrhaging from the arteries didn’t kill him first. 

He sighed as he pulled his chair closer and sat back down. Elder Kaoru lay wheezing and feebly trying to clutch at his chest and drag himself away from Hashirama at the same time. He thought about what Kaoru had told him, about him and the other elders trying to convince Tobirama to overthrow and kill him, and about how Tobirama had declined and instead continued to remain steadfast as his clan heir. 

He knew full well that his little brother loved him and was fully devoted to him and his kin, but he hadn’t realized how deep the corruption of the elders council ran. For them to try and get him killed by his own little brother, his Tobira....even he hadn’t believed that they were that bad. Against his dream for peace, against the Uchiha, sure, but to be so against those things that they would be willing to resort to planning a coup? And use his own brother as the catalyst for said coup? 

That was an extremely bold move. 

It also had the potential to ruin his plans. He had only intended to kill off a few of the more vocal elders, and instead replace them with less politically inclined ones who would lean more towards peace with the Uchiha’s if they had a solid base on which to build said peace. But now he needed to figure out just how many elders had been in on this failed coup. If all of them had been in on it he might have to do away with the elders altogether to ensure that the few he left alive from the old guard didn’t manage to poison the new ones against his ideals. However, if only some of them were in on it, then the most likely candidates would be the ones that he already slated to be killed. 

It was also possible for him to just kill all of the elders - though doing so may set off a chain reaction among the clan members and drive them further away from peace - and find a way to convince the clan as a whole that they didn’t need a council of elders moving forward into the future. There really wasn’t a need for an elders council, all the elders ever did was gripe and groan any time someone even thought about changing things from the way they were back in the elder’s day. 

Hashirama sighed again, standing up from the chair to kick Kaoru’s dead body in his frustration. Clearly he needed to think this over more intensely before he moved to the next stage of his plans. He wandered out of the house, already making up his mind to go alert the halls of healing to Elder Kaoru’s death and then head down to Tobirama’s lab so that he can think easier.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hashirama comes to a decision regarding the elders council

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally wrote this whole chapter in like an hour, after having a whole different chapter 8 half written for like a month. I scraped most of the first version of chapter 8 because after reading it again I hated it. So this chapter isnt really edited much, but hopefully its still good!

* * *

Hashirama stared calmly out at the room in front of him. The meeting hall was surprisingly quiet considering it was one of the few times that almost all the adults in the clan were present, the only sounds being the soft whispers of some of the younger warriors. Usually the clan meetings were held with him, the clan elders, and a select few warriors and civilians, but this was somewhat of an unprecedented meeting. 

Once the whispers died down, Hashirama stood from his chair at the head of the room with a grim look plastered on his face. “I’m sure you are all wondering why I’ve called this meeting.” He started seriously, “As I’m sure all of you are aware, two weeks ago Elder Kaoru passed into the pure lands. While his death was swift, the lead up to it was not. During the days I was assisting him he admitted to masterminding several....traitorous acts.” 

The atmosphere in the room instantly changed. 

The remaining elders hid their surprise and fear from the rest of the clan well, but not well enough for his mokuton to not be able to sense the fluctuation. The rest of the clan was split between confusion and righteous indignation. 

He held up a hand to keep the shouted demands for answers at bay, “Had this been an isolated incident I would not have taken Elder Kaoru’s admission of guilt as serious. In fact I more than likely would have overlooked it as a brief episode of delusion before his death, but it is not the first time I have heard of these deeds.”

Again the meeting hall was alight with calls for answers. Hashirama was actually a bit flabbergasted at how quickly the rest of the clan rightfully assumed he was accusing _all_ of the elders of something despicable and not just Elder Kaoru. He thought there would have been more push back from, at the very least, the older generation of warriors, but it seemed as though more than just him had a problem with their elders. 

“I was first alerted to the possible corruption of our Elders council by Elder Nariko herself, weeks before her passing. However, given that I only had her word, against a full council of other elders, I did not alert the rest of the elders to this accusation. Instead I attempted to dig deeper and find evidence for myself.” 

“This is preposterous!” Elder Heizo, the fragile old coot that he was, stood from his pace among the elders, waving his cane about like it was a sword. “I will not stand to hear these wild accusations thrown about -”

“I haven’t accused you of anything specific yet, Elder.” His voice silenced the elder, and the entire room, everyone completely stunned by the ice in their normally jovial and light hearted clan head’s voice. “As I was saying. I went to Elder Kaoru, I talked with him in the weeks leading up to his death. He, much like you Elder Heizo, vehemently denied knowing anything about the accusations Elder Nariko levelled at him. However, as death approached he changed. He told me he knew he was dying and that not even my healing could halt the Shinigami from taking him. He decided he wanted to absolve himself of any guilt before he passed.” 

Hashirama let that statement hang in the air for a few moments. Then he took a deep breath, making a show of steeling himself as he chose his next words very carefully, “Elder Kaoru admitted to attempting to stage a coup, to attempting to overthrow me and put another in my place as clan head, and he admitted to other Elders on the council helping in this attempt. He also, to my horror, admitted to poisoning elder Nariko shortly before her death to keep me from finding out about his nefarious deeds. As such, the purpose of this meeting is to determine which elders on this council were complicit in this treason, and punish them accordingly.” 

Outraged cries filled the whole room, and almost before Hashirama could blink, some of the young warriors had already drawn swords and were attempting to charge the tables of elders.

“Who cares which ones helped, they should all be punished!” 

“If one helped then they all helped!” 

Without a second thought he quickly put up a wall of vines between the two groups. Even going so far as to have some of his vines entangle the hands and feet of his fellow warriors. He wanted the elders dead, and he would absolutely _love_ to watch them be killed by their own clanmates, but he had a show to put on. 

There was going to be a trial, as was fair for any crime, even the crime of treason. The Elders wouldn’t win and the trial was never going to be even a semblance of fair, but he only needed it to look like it was fair. While he already had the whole clan against the elders, he still needed to make damn sure they were _with_ him and not just caught up in the moment. 

“I know why you are angry, I was also angry when Elder Kaoru admitted this fallacy to me, but even those accused of treason have a right to a trial.” Hashirama extended his vines to the elders, forcing Elder Heizo back into his seat and keeping the others from getting out of theirs. “And that is what we are here for today, we will be holding a trial for the entire council of elders, and as this is extremely unprecedented I wished for all of our clan to be here as witnesses.”

The warriors slowly settled back in their seats, grumbling and glaring at the elders the entire time, and resheathed their weapons. The unrest in the room was palpable and Hashirama had to work like hell to keep the smirk off of his face as he turned to face the elders. 

Elder Heizo looked like he was about to have a conniption, Elder Chitose was surveying the hall like she was planning an escape. But best of all, three of the other elders had gone ghost white in their chairs, which he knew would be as good as them standing up and declaring their guilt in the eyes of his clan. There were only two elders he would actually regret executing at the end of the day but there was just no way around it. He had to either get rid of all of them or none of them and he had already firmly decided to get rid of all of them. 

It was for the better of the clan. Truly, the elders council was incredibly outdated and didn’t serve to make the clan better as a whole. It made the clan worse if anything. They kept their clan in the past and refused to allow them to move forward and adapt. 

“You can’t all be this gullible.” Heizo was looking more like a rabid dog that had been cornered than an elder of a clan, “There is no way this sham of a trial will be fair.” 

The very diplomatic voice of Elder Chitose followed Elder Heizo’s. “I agree.” She didn’t seem as fazed by the accusations or the way the clan had reacted to them. Whether that calmness was because she hadn’t known about the coup and thus didn’t believe there was any truth to the accusations, or because she thought her standing in the clan was secure enough that no one would even consider allowing him to execute her, was completely up in the air. “There is no possibility of anyone being an impartial judge in this. Not with the way you have brought up the accusations and not when you seem to have already made up your mind on our guilt.”

Hashirama conceded that point with a subtle incline of his head. “You’re right, none of us can really be impartial, just like nothing can stop all of you from trying to sway the clan with lies. But I’m sure you all know that my otouto is a brilliant inventor, since you tried to convince him to overthrow me.” 

“What does that demon have to do with anything? He isn’t even here.” Heizo was practically foaming at the mouth at the mere mention of Tobirama. 

“Like I said, he’s a brilliant inventor, and while he might not be here for this trial, he has made a seal in the past that allows us to see if someone is telling a lie. Though I haven’t had much use for it outside of interrogating our enemies I feel it would be very prudent now.”

“For all we know that freak sabotaged that seal!” 

His vines crawled up Heizo’s body and slid around his throat. They didn’t squeeze enough to cut off his air or stop him from talking, they only squeezed hard enough to let him get the message. Hashirama wouldn’t be tolerating anything negative being said about his Tobira. 

“It’s worked so far, you can even ask my fellow interrogators, since they have been using it since Tobirama created it.” Hashirama gave a moment for the four men who helped him interrogate prisoners to speak up, and speak up they did. 

They backed him up, given that they had been using that very same seal for nearly a year and not once had the seal been proven wrong. If the information a prisoner gave was deemed true by the seal and they went out to verify it, it had always been right. If the seal said the information was a lie, it had turned out to be a lie. 

Most of the clan members seemed to take that information at face value. One of the warriors from his father's generation, his father’s third cousin if he remembered correctly, took the time to ask some rudimentary questions about the seal. They weren’t terribly hard questions, and he chose to let the other interrogators answer them so that it didn’t seem like he was biased towards his brother's creation. 

The questions seemed to clear up any worries the rest of the clan had, even with the elders trying to ‘subtly’ needle their way back into making people suspicious about the seal. 

When he was sure everyone had finished asking and answering their questions he pulled the stack of seal paper towards him. The seals had already been painstakingly drawn on them, and everything was ready to go. All he had to do was stick them on each of the elders and activate them with his chakra. 

The seal was made so that once it was activated if the wearer told a lie, or even just something they believed to be a lie, it would glow a deep red. If the wearer told the truth or what they truly believed to be the truth it would glow green. 

Or rather, that's how it _should_ work. No one knew that he had altered this specific stack of seals so that regardless of whether a statement was true or not, it would instead be reacting to what his chakra told it to do. The elders would be getting railroaded either way, and given that he’s spent time making it look like they were all corrupt from the start, it really wouldn’t matter if it was blatant that he had tampered with the seals. 

He went around placing the seals on all of the elders, and then pushed his chakra through them to activate them. 

“Now, I am going to ask a question, all of you will answer that question one by one. Do you understand?” The elders begrudgingly nodded. “You have to answer verbally, please.” 

One by one they gave affirmative answers, and Hashirama made the seal glow green. Just this once, to show that it really did tell the ‘truth’. 

“Did you plan a coup.” A bold first question. 

Heizo started them off, loudly declaring that he had done no such thing, and Hashirama cut him off before he started his spiel about how outrageous the accusation was. The seal glowed red. Of the three grey faced elders that followed, one actually told the truth, stating that he had been a part in planning a coup with Elder Kaoru and the rest of the elders, and Hashirama had to act quickly to make the seal glow green again instead of red. The next elder, however, did try to lie and say that he had no part in any coup. The third remained completely silent and seemed too shocked at the situation to even think of an answer. 

That pattern seemed to continue on with the rest of his line of questioning. Hashirama would ask a question, Heizo would give a vehement denial followed by and attempt to argue with Hashirama, the one elder would actually tell the truth, and the other five elders would be a mix of lies and half truths, and then trying to win the clan back to their side by trying to ‘explain’ away their actions. 

The only point that all of the elders actually lied was when he had asked about whether or not they had planned to have Tobirama take his place as clan head and when he asked if they had tried to convince Tobirama to help overthrow him only for Tobirama to tell them no. Every single one had tried to say that they hadn’t planned for Tobirama to be clan head, and that they hadn’t ever told Tobirama about the coup let alone tried to get him to agree to overthrow Hashirama. 

It didn’t really matter that they lied about that part, since the clan believed they lied the whole time. But Hashirama didn’t understand why they were so intent on lying about involving Tobira. Even the elders that told the truth about the coup didn’t want to tell the truth about Tobirama. 

Perhaps they mistakenly thought that if Hashirama believed they didn’t try to involve his little brother in this coup he would somehow be more lenient with them. 

The anger in the room was palpable enough that it could be cut with a knife, and by the time Hashriama finished the last questions about Tobirama’s possible involvement in the coup, he wasn't sure if even his mokuton could hold the clan back from murdering the elders right where they sat. 

“Does anyone else have any questions for the council of elders?” 

Only one man, a civilian, stood. He asked one simple question. “Is this the first time you’ve planned a coup?” 

It was a brilliant trick question that he hadn’t even thought to ask, and it was one that trapped them regardless of what they said. If they said no, and it showed they were truthful then it shows they’ve planned multiple coups. If they said no and it's a lie then they’ve admitted to planning multiple coups. A yes and a lie again means they’ve planned multiple coups, a yes and a truth again means they planned this coup despite having denied it before, though they won’t be admitting to having planned other coups. 

There was quite literally no way for this to have gone better for Hashirama. Someone who wasn’t Hashirama, someone who Hashirama had seen so little of that he couldn’t even remember his name, threw such an inflammatory question at the elders and he hadn’t even coached him into it!

Predictably, none of the elders volunteered an answer to that question. They merely avoided looking at the rest of the clan, clearly knowing when they had been beaten. 

Hashirama heaved a sigh and sat back in his chair with a fake pensive look on his face. “Given your answers, I believe we have enough evidence to definitively convict you of treason against our clan. As Head of The Senju Clan, I hereby declare all of you traitors, and come morning you will all be executed.” 

Several of the warriors stood up at his declaration and after he released the elders from his vines they escorted them to the clans cells. There were no words to describe how excited he was as the elders were forced out of the meeting hall, and the rest of the clan trickled out. But even though he was beyond ecstatic he forced himself to keep a solemn face as he left the hall, and walked all the way back to the main family house, until he finally got into the tunnel leading to Tobirama’s lab. 

Once he got into the lab though, then he fully let loose. His laughter sounded maniacal to even his own ears but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had done it. He had won! _All_ of the elders would be dead in the morning, he clearly had the backing of the whole clan in this decision, and there was a clear path to making sure there was never another elders council standing in his way again. 

He managed to calm his laughter as he entered the lab, not wanting to disturb his brother's sleep. 

“You would not believe how easily this plan is coming together, Tobira.” He whispered as he sat on the floor and pulled his limp brother into his arms. He reached over to grab a brush off the nearby table and started gently brushing Tobirama’s soft white hair, “It’s almost like there's some kind of divine intervention.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, let me know!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hashirama rewards himself after getting rid of the elders, and start advancing his plan for peace even further

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeyyy, guys! I'm back with yet another unedited chapter! I was hoping to get to the point of actually introducing Izuna into this chapter, but it ended up being super duper long when I finished writing it, so I instead split it into two chapter. Izuna will appear (officially, since he is at least mentioned in the chapter) next chapter I promise. And things will definitely start to heat up once Izuna comes into play!

* * *

Hashirama could barely hold in his excitement, after a day or two of deliberation he decided to wake Tobirama up. Not completely, obviously. They didn’t have peace yet and he had promised his little brother that they would be at peace when he woke up next, but he wanted to at least free him from the hold of his medication for just a little bit. 

Tobirama wouldn’t be coherent or truly mentally aware of what was going on around him, but he’d be able to open his eyes and move around, maybe even talk and hold a conversation though he probably wouldn’t remember anything. Really, Hashirama just wanted to see his brother's eyes again, maybe hear his voice. 

He deserved it. He’d been working hard to get peace! 

Having Tobira at least somewhat awake and looking alive would be the best reward. It would be the icing on top of the cake after being able to execute the whole elders council a few days ago with the full support of his clan at his back, not to mention it would be good for Tobira as well. 

Hashirama may have had a clone keeping Tobirama’s body moving when he was at the outpost, and he had personally kept Tobirama moving during his stay in the lab, but moving someone's body for them only did so much. Having Tobirama move under his own steam would help keep his muscles from deteriorating too much while he slept. 

His muscles had already taken a pretty big hit. Hashirama could tell just from the way the clothing he was dressed in fit so much looser than it had when he was originally at the outpost. 

“You think you’re ready to be awake for a little while?” Hashirama crooned, pulling Tobirama till his back was resting against his chest. He administered the antidote for his special ‘medication’ just as easily and as swiftly as he had administered the medicine, and again he found himself silently thanking his brother for inventing syringes. It made giving medicine so much easier. 

The antidote worked quicker than Hashirama had expected it to, barely twenty minutes after he gave it to him Tobirama was already showing signs of regaining consciousness. A few minutes after that Tobirama opened his eyes for the first time since Hashirama took him to the outpost. 

Hashirama thought he had known how pretty his brother's eyes were, but finally being able to see them again after months of them being hidden, it nearly took his breath away, even with the crimson of his irises nearly eclipsed by his pupils, still completely dilated from the drug in his system. 

His little brother made a soft groggy noise, shivering against Hashirama’s chest as he tried to get his bearings back. Hashirama just pet his hair, waiting until he had stopped trying to move himself before he started talking to him. 

“Well look who’s decided to rejoin the land of the living.” 

Tobira startled at the sound of his voice and Hashirama nearly kicked himself. It had been so long since Tobirama had figured out how to see with his sensing abilities that Hashirama had completely forgotten he was blind without them. Normally even having been drugged wouldn't be a problem, since the first thing to come back while drugged, even before his consciousness, was always his ability to sense. But he hadn’t thought about the fact that he had put a chakra sealing collar on his brother since he had done it well over a month ago. 

The collar was absolutely stunning on Tobirama, the dark red of the leather matched his eyes and the seals on his face, while the black of the chakra ink looked striking against his pale skin. 

“Ani-” Tobirama’s voice was barely more than a croak and it broke before he could even get a full word out. 

Hashirama shook himself from his thoughts and turned his attention back to Tobi. “It’s alright Tobira, everything is okay, I promise.” He caressed a hand down Tobirama’s flank. “It's just me and you here.” 

Tobirama’s head lolled to the side, his eyes sluggishly rolling around the room. “Where?” 

“We’re in your lab, otouto.” 

“Rage ov’r?” 

Hashirama winced. How could he forget that he had originally drugged Tobirama when they were at the outpost for his ‘Spring Rage’? He really needed to stop getting distracted by how pretty his brother was. “Yeah...it’s over, we’re back at home now. You’re probably starving!” 

Real subtle, Hashirama. 

He reached for a bowl of fresh blueberries he had picked from Tobirama’s favorite blueberry bush in the gardens. Tobirama looked utterly confused as one of the blueberries was forced into his mouth, but he still ate it. His tongue flicked out to press against the pad of Hashirama’s thumb and Hashirama immediately lost his train of thought. 

He shoved another blueberry passed Tobirama’s lips so that he didn’t get too distracted and do something that he shouldn't. It was one thing to take a few liberties with his brother while he was asleep, but Hashirama didn’t want to take the chance of scaring Tobirama with his desires in the short time he was awake. There would be plenty of time to slowly introduce Tobirama to the idea of them being together like that once he was finished building them a village. Right now was for him to enjoy Tobirama’s presence and for Tobirama to take some time to move around by himself instead of having Hashirama move his body for him. 

“We should probably get you up and moving, huh?” Hashirama put the bowl back on the counter and then moved so that he could stand up with Tobirama supported in his arms. 

Tobirama couldn’t even really stand up on his own, even with Hashirama holding him under his shoulders he was still struggling to stand. Perhaps Hashirama had overshot how long he had left Tobirama asleep. Clearly it had affected his muscles more than Hashirama had originally thought, even with him keeping Tobirama moving every night. 

Though Tobirama losing some muscle function might not be a bad thing. It would make Tobira more dependent on him even once he’s no longer being drugged, and it would probably go a long way towards finalizing peace if one of the strongest Senju warriors wasn’t in fighting shape. And it wasn’t like Hashirama couldn’t protect his clan, and especially his last little brother, if peace did end up falling apart. 

He helped Tobirama take a few shaky steps around the small room, until he saw a bit more awareness come back to Tobirama’s eyes. He didn't want him fully cognizant, he just wanted him aware enough that he knew he was with his Anija and that he could move around a bit on his own. He led him to some of the shelves he had made, so Tobirama could pick up and feel the little trinkets he had placed around the room from his other brothers. 

(Hashirama wouldn’t tell anyone that his brother's eyes got a bit misty once he realized what was in his hands, nor would he ever say anything about his own eyes getting a bit wet when the items had Tobirama curling into his side and reminiscing about their baby brothers.) 

He let Tobirama stay awake, talking to him and talking about their little brothers, for a couple of hours, until he knew that he absolutely needed to get back to his mountain of paperwork. Hashirama reluctantly herded Tobirama back to the futon in the corner of the room. Against his better judgement he decides to just inject Tobirama with one of the syringes full of the medicine without trying to drug him with pollen first. 

It wasn’t like Tobirama would really remember these last few hours anyway.

* * *

It was a beautiful day to be outside, the sun was shining, the wind was blowing gently, the leaves were starting to lighten and drop off the trees now that Autumn was beginning. It was a great day to start the next phase of his plan.

After getting rid of the Elders Council he had really wanted to just jump straight into getting peace with the Uchiha, because once he got peace with them he could start work on setting up the village, but after spending a those few short hours with Tobi he realized that he had to give things a little bit of time. 

If he tried to rush things and immediately start bringing up a peace treaty, especially if he goes in with the peace treaty Tobirama had made. That treaty was too in depth, too well thought out even without considering the village plans and the treaties with other shinobi clans. If the clan saw all of that at once they’d automatically assume that he killed the elders solely so that he could force through a peace treaty without any pushback. 

That doubt alone could be enough to screw up all his hard work and he wasn’t going to be having that. Instead he was going to have to adapt and rearrange his plan. Thankfully there were a few more things he could do before he tried to present the idea of peace to his clan. 

He had already spent the last two months since killing the elders by taking down the elders and some particularly vocal warriors in the Uchiha clan. It was harder than taking out his own clan elders, since he didn’t have direct contact with most of them, but at least it was easy to take out the warriors. All he had to do was wait for them to get assigned to a mission and leave the compound and then he could just make their deaths look like they were from the mission. 

He’d killed seven clansmen and three of the Uchiha Elders that way, and he only really needed to kill two more Uchiha clansmen. Anymore than that and he was risking putting the Uchiha on high alert and he needed to get these last shinobi killed quickly before Madara decided that the risk of deaths on mission or death by the increase in Senju patrols outweighed the risk of their coffers dwindling. 

Which was why he was out in the middle of the forest right now. He was waiting for the last two Uchiha he wanted dead to cross his path on their way to their current mission, and once he killed them he’d head North to intercept Izuna. 

It was a risky move to make, kidnapping Madara’s little brother, but it was a move he had to make. He knew damn well that Madara wasn’t going to go against Izuna’s wishes unless something incredibly drastic happened and Izuna’s wishes, for whatever reason, were to keep this stupid war going. 

He only really had two options where Izuna was concerned and those options were either kill him or do something that would prove to Izuna that he actually wanted peace and wasn’t just trying to lull them into a false sense of security before ambushing them. Killing Izuna would most definitely turn Madara completely against peace, especially if he ever found out that _Hashirama_ had been the one to kill Izuna. It would also make Madara turn his sights on Tobirama in revenge, and that's just not something Hashirama could allow. 

He loved Madara to death, but if it came down to it and he had to choose between his best friend and Tobirama? If he had to choose between his childhood dream and the person who had actually been working on that dream beside him the whole time even if he didn’t see it till now? He’d choose Tobirama. 

Which meant that he would have to convince Izuna that his pleas for peace weren’t fake.

Hashirama was pulled from his thoughts by his poppy’s alerting him to the Uchiha’s drawing nearer. To his surprise there was a third Uchiha with the two he had been expecting. Probably because seven warriors had already died on missions in the last two months. Not that it mattered, Hashirama could kill three shinobi just as easily as he could kill two. 

The three shinobi were jumping through the trees a few meters away and it was easy enough to grow a vine that wrapped around the oldest shinobi’s ankle, sending him hurtling through the air towards the ground. Hashirama moved before the man could regain his balance and rushed the youngest of the group while a wood clone threw a kunai that slit the first shinobi’s throat. 

Neither Uchiha stood a chance. 

One was dead before he even knew what was happening, having nearly been cut clear in half by Hashirama’s katana, and the other was bleeding out on the ground. The last shinobi had stopped for just a fraction of a second, but it was just a fraction too long. She wasn’t even able to complete the hand seals for a grand fireball as the tree branch she was standing on morphed underneath her, jagged bits of barks instantly puncturing multiple places on her body. 

The fight was over practically before it began and Hashirama couldn’t help but survey the carnage with satisfaction. It wasn’t as messy as he hoped it would be though it would definitely serve its purpose. The slit throat and the disemboweling could have been done by any shinobi quick enough to ambush them, and while the branch piercing the third shinobi made it very obvious who had attacked them, it was easy enough to coax the branch into morphing back to its original shape. 

Hashirama dropped down to the ground next to one of the men’s bodies. He dipped one of his hands into the pool of blood and started smearing it across his armor. He flickered some of the blood up near his neck and on the edges of his arms, trying to make it look as authentic as he could. 

He hesitated a bit before reaching down to rummage through the packs that the Uchiha had with them. There wasn’t much that he would normally want to take but he did want it to make it look like it was a chance encounter with enemy shinobi that the Uchiha lost rather than a planned assasination.

He pocketed all of their rations, along with most of their weapons and some of the scrolls they had on them. The rations he could at least snack on while he made the journey north to pick up Izuna but the rest of the stuff was mostly junk he didn’t really care for. Tobira would probably like the weapons, even if it was just to be able to get a more in depth look at how the Uchiha made their weapons, and he might find something interesting on the scrolls, so he decided to keep them as well. He didn’t really bother trying to wrestle them out of their armor or dig any deeper than just their packs and pockets. Instead he moved the bodies slightly off the path they were on, since the path was one that was heavily trafficked by Uchiha patrols and he didn’t want the bodies found too quickly. 

Then he was off to Northern Fire Country.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know in the comments, and feel free to talk about where you think this is headed! I haven't had the time to reply to some of the comments from last chapter, but I plan to respond to them in the next day or two!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lo and Behold we've got yet another short chapter! Its short mostly because I didn't want to throw all the action into one chapter, because no one likes it when the load is blown all at once. But! We've got Izuna making his way into the story, and we've got some plot moving on up, and Madara will be in the next chapter! (Finally. It only took him 11 chapters to finally make an appearance.)

* * *

Hashirama did have to hand it to the Uchiha clan, even their rations were incredibly flavorful. Normally Hashirama hated rations. They were flavorless and hard and overall not good, but the ones he had taken from the dead Uchiha were delicious. They were still kind of hard and annoying to eat but they were nicely spiced. 

He was lounging encased in a tree waiting for his moment to strike. The assassins he had hired from rain country - conveniently the same ones he had hired to take out Elder Korenaga - were already in place just waiting for Izuna to get close enough for them to attack. He had been further ahead of schedule than he originally planned for, so instead of just barely being ahead of Izuna he was about an hour or two ahead. 

Which wasn’t a bad thing. It gave him ample time to plant some of his special flowers, the same flowers he had used to drug Tobira in the outpost, all along the route he knew Izuna would be taking to get to his mission destination. 

Now he was just waiting, munching on rations, and talking to the trees. (The trees were incredible conversationalists, and they had a _ton_ of information on any and all of the nearby clans that Hashirama asked about) 

He was still keeping a very close eye on his look out poppies. He didn't want to take the chance that Izuna might veer out of the path of the assassins, but he also didn’t want Izuna to come up on them too quickly. 

If Izuna came in too hot, he might actually be able to kill the assassins off before Hashirama's drugs had the chance to weaken him. But if he got delayed or went out of the path he was on, the drug might be too far into effect by time he got to the assassins. It was a very sensitive balance he had to keep. 

Eventually, after what seemed like _forever_ \- he’d run out of rations a while ago, and the trees were now talking quite aggressively about pollination - Izuna finally made his way to the clearing that the assassins were waiting in. 

Hashirama didn’t want to jump into the fight immediately, he wanted the assassins to get a chance at attacking Izuna, so he forced himself to stay in his tree until his poppies told him that Izuna was starting to feel the effects of his pollen. Then he let the tree open up around him and stepped out towards the clearing. 

The poppies were telling him Izuna was putting up a good fight, even better than Hashirama had originally thought he would. It was clear to see why the man thought he was strong enough to be Tobirama’s equal, though Hashirama knew better. He knew that Tobira was holding back for his sake, so that he could keep his dream of peace alive. 

Even though he was still fighting well, the Uchiha’s movements were starting to get slower and slower, and even a second of hesitation could cause Izuna to actually be killed by the assassins. He wanted Madara’s brother to truly think he was about to die, and then he would swoop in and save him. Of course he would have to kill the assassins he had hired, but it wasn’t as if anyone _knew_ it had been him that had hired them. And if everything went according to plan, then Madara would soon be back by his side. 

The sound of fighting drawing nearer pulled him back out of his thoughts and he quickly pulled out a vial of blood that he had hidden in his armor. He splashed it over the mostly dried blood from the Uchiha’s he had killed earlier, then he rubbed a little bit of dirt over himself and pulled at his hair to make it look more wild. A few short but deep breaths made it seem as though he had been running.

Hashirama had to force the smirk off his face as he burst through the trees. He landed on the edge of the clearing, his eyes darting around to take in the 12 assassins still left alive, and the wounded form of Uchiha Izuna. Some of the assassins stopped their advance, turning to look at him and size him up while the rest continued attacking Izuna. Their moment of hesitation was more than enough for him to summon his mokuton to spear all of them with thick branches. They were dead long before they hit the ground, and he swiftly made his way over to Izuna. 

The younger shinobi wasn’t looking good. His skin had already taken on a grey pallor, he was covered in a sheen of sweat, and he had a large gash running along his side. It wasn’t horribly deep, and if he got medical attention soon it would actually heal up quite nicely. 

Hashirama dropped down next to Izuna, easily knocking the katana out of his trembling hand and onto the ground. It skittered away towards the other side of the small clearing, only coming to a rest when it knocked against one of the dead bodies. Izuna’s eyes were glazed when he met them, a flat black that reminded him of a snake. 

His altered pollen had clearly taken its toll, since Izuna was unable to do more than weakly push at him when he lowered one of his hands to begin healing the gash on his side. Izuna was scrabbling at his armor, trying either to push him off or pull him in close enough to launch some kind of attack. 

Hashirama didn’t let him. Not that an attack at this point would realistically hurt him. Izuna was far too weak from the pollen and the injury to kill him, and even if he managed to land a hit, Hashirama’s iryo-jutsu would heal his body easily. 

“I have no intentions of hurting you, Izuna,” He rumbled, watching with glee as Izuna’s eyelids started to droop. Everything was going according to plan, “Everything will be fine soon.” 

He waited until Izuna was completely unconscious before he stopped his healing chakra. He could have fully healed the gash, but he wanted it to look as though Izuna had actually been close to death, and leaving the wound somewhat unhealed would be a good way to fake that. 

Hashirama moved to stand and pull Izuna up into his arms in a bridal carry. He let the younger shinobi’s head lull against his chest and let his satisfied smirk crawl its way back onto his face. 

It would be a long run back to the compound but if everything worked out he could get Izuna back to the lab, settled in, and still have time to go to Madara before night fell.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and as always let me know with a kudos or a comment!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading guys! I hope you guys liked it, let me and Kitsunesongs know if you liked it! Comment, kudos, anything is welcome!


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